I think this is not about losing to OKC by 1 point, this is more about the way they lost and choked.... and that was not the first time but repetition of earlier similar choking... referees favored rockets late 4th quarter (Harden hold/tangled up Denis Schroder but Schroder was called for foul, Tucker stripped off Paul George but there was no foul call which resulted CP3 to have an easy layup)... against team like GS rockets will not get similar treatment... actually most calls will be against them.......in other words rockets supporters are justified to worry about the playoffs performance from last night's play, OKC didn't even play good until last min or so. The scary part is that Harden and company once again showed they have problems handling pressure , the small lineup of Rockets struggle against teams with tall physical center/PF.
No one would have issue with this loss if it was the first game of the season. OKC is a respectable team with future Hall of Famers on it. They are capable of beating anyone on any given night. I don't think last night proved anything because the regular season often doesn't prove anything. This weekend when the playoffs start every team will be 0-0 and this game will be forgotten if the Rockets move on to the 2nd round.
so you're happy only with Rockets advancing to the 2nd round, I'm not happy until Rockets win champioship and from that perspective last night's choking was extremely disappointing and alarming and not fitting for championship contenders.
The Rockets played the Warriors 4 times this season and won 3 of the 4..... with the referees not favoring them.
But they lost the last game, Rockets don't play anymore the winning combination of the 3rd game (Capela/Faried as starters ). First 2 games Demarcus Cousins didn't play, 3rd game he played but Capela and Faried together were able to control him plus there was no Harden, 4th game Demarcus Cousins demolished Rockets and Capela.. the indication is our coaches will go again with last game's starters. Slim Capela cannot control stronger Cousins by himself, underheight Tucker/Gordon give too many inches to Durant/Draymond.....plus their 3 point shooters are way better than ours. Last year was our best chance to beat Warriors... and we actually beat them if there were impartial referring...
I like your comparison of the upcoming Rockets-Warriors series to the Kings-Lakers rivalry. I hope it won't be especially apt, remembering how that Kings series ended in 2002 with the league basically gifting the series to the Lakers. Cross that bridge when you get to it, I guess, and as you note in your latest post, the Rockets have a 3-1 regular season lead on the Warriors, while at times playing 8-5. 20-25% chance of a championship is pretty damned good. Coldly looking at projections, it's probably better than the chances of the Astros repeating.
So? The Rockets lost the last game against the Warriors by two points.... while the Warriors had two days off to rest and prepare for the Rockets. Also, House did not play in that game. James Harden didn't even play in the third game against the Warriors, and the Rockets won by 6 points on the road. The Rockets blew out the Warriors in the first game they went head to head, out scoring the Warriors in all four quarters. The Rockets won their third match up against the Warriors without Chris Paul and with Curry often left defending Harden, who poured in 44 points. You talk about "demolishing" the Rockets........ the only game where anyone was demolished was when the Rockets beat the Warriors by 20.... the Rockets played two of the four games without either Harden or Paul. The Rockets did not play the Warriors this season with their full rotation. The Rockets lost to a well rested Warriors team by 2 points and without House playing. The Warriors are going to be very hard to beat, there isn't anything that happened in the series this season that sends up a red flag for the Rockets.
Exactly. I had this same discussion with the Astros in the playoffs last year. People were especially upset when the Astros lost in the playoffs last season. However, the odds of repeating in baseball are very low because there are many factors that art arbitrary. The NBA is more predictable, but the Rockets are one of only 3 teams that have a realistic option of winning the title.
shut up ash....go rant on twitter..... Rockets will be 16-5 on their way to a championship.... book it.
The matchups that Rockets won with and against are nonexistent now... the last one had Rockets whole team healthy but GS didn't have Durant yet we couldn't handle Cousins, first two didn't have Cousins... I am worried about the last games starting five for the rockets since most likely that will be the starting five.. that small lineup cannot control taller players, gives away too many defensive rebounds and chokes in pressure time against good opponents.
Does Cousins's successful integration within the Warriors, irrevocably change the likelihood of a Rockets/Warriors series from a win to a likely loss, in your opinion? I write this, mainly because I'm not sold at all on the Rockets, and specifically Capela, being able to either meaningfully protect the rim or get a majority of rebounds. I don't know that Cousins was playing great for the Warriors in any of the Rox games, but he certainly is now, and I've no faith the Rox can keep him off the glass. I also don't like this new-found enthusiasm from House to stink up meaningful games, but maybe that's an artifact of a small sample?
I will be happiest if my analysis is wrong and Rockets beat GS but when analyzing I cannot ignore the facts.
Again, you are being overly pessimistic. The Rockets have not played the Warriors with their entire rotation healthy, and still won the season series 3-1. I am not going to dismiss the first three games and put a huge amount of credence in the 4th game just because the Rockets lost by 2 points. The playoff match ups never even competed against each other at 100% this season. If you have made the decision that the 4th game means everything, that is your prerogative but it seems very short sighted to me. Any team playing the Warriors have concerns. Also, the Rockets will make adjustments if necessary. They have House and Faried that can cause issues for the Warriors.
Yes I'm pessimistic here... in order to beat Warriors Rockets cannot match 100% of Warriors, they need to play at 120% of Warriors.( learned from last year's game 6/7).. the extra 20% is to overcome the negativity from the officials. But with BIG hole in defensive rebounding that seems very difficult.
The honest answer is no one knows for sure. Cousins made a difference in the last game the Rockets played against the Warriors but the guy that made a bigger difference is Livingston. The Warriors lose that game without Livingston stepping up. The Rockets lost that last game against the Warriors because they only shot 25% from 3. Capela has protected the rim fine this season against the Warriors. The Rockets defense against the Warriors this season has overall been fine. Capela one on one against Cousins is a fair concern, but feeding Cousins in the post comes at a cost. The Warriors get less looks for their other players, and they risk a turnover as well. Also when Cousins sees his role increase, it takes away some of Green's impact. In the last game, the Warriors out rebounded the Rockets 48-40 and that was with Cousins playing heavy minutes. The Warriors have to win the rebound battle against the Rockets to win the series. A 48-40 discrepancy is not enough to be alarming. House is a role player, he is going to be inconsistent. However he has overall been pretty consistent week to week and his three point shooting has been consistent as well. in January he shot 43% from 3, (wasn't a Rocket in February), in March shot 44% from 3 and in April shot 45% from 3. Guys like House, Faried, Livingston and Bell can be the difference in a playoff series.
yes because atleast two 3s during that streak went in but referees wrongly judged those as foul before shooting. Harden was fouled on 2/3 other occassions while shooting 3s but foul wasn't called. Plus there is no such rule that if you miss so and so 3s you cannot win. Two of the noncalls on 3 point shooting resulted fast break 3s for Warriors... 12 points turnaround just in those 2 non calls.
